The rise and rise of Horrible Histories, which is coming to Tunbridge Wells

Q When you wrote your first Horrible Histories, did you ever imagine the idea would go on to be so successful?

A Yes, I think most authors believe their work will be a huge success even though most books disappear from print after a couple of months.

It’s that hope that keeps us going.

When I wrote my very first fiction book 38 years ago, my publisher said: “Writing is like a sausage machine and you have to keep stuffing in at one end so something comes out the other end – it is like a process.”

I kept writing book after book – 50 fiction titles before HH came along – but I never imagined I would have a series that would become first of all iconic and, secondly, would still be selling 20 years later.

Roald Dahl has managed that, but I can’t think of anyone else who is still selling so well.

What usually happens is that people have sensational ideas and they sell really well for a while, but they do tend to come and go.

It is a shame you can’t predict which are the ones that will last!

Q What you believe is behind the popularity of Horrible Histories?

A Nobody had done anything like them before and they filled a desperate need.

There were fact books for children but tended to be written by experts on the subject. They knew their history, but they didn’t have a clue how to write about it for children.

So with Horrible Histories, instead of an expert who couldn’t write, they approached a children’s author who knew nothing about history.

I get all my facts from research. I do my research and say “You will never guess what I discovered” and “Phwoar, this is great!”.

It is actually a simple answer.

I say I am not an expert in history and this is why they work.

Down the years people have tried to copy Horrible Histories by doing funny fact books, but they never get it right because they use experts, not writers.

Q Have ever found any facts that were too horrible to include?

A Well, the publishers have said so. For example, when the Vikings invaded, they became settlers and had families here. But these settlers were as vicious as the Vikings and when they invaded a Viking village they would find a Viking child, swing it by its legs and bash its brains out.

But when I told the publishers, they said, “We can’t have that”, which is strange as I can’t see it is any worse than some of the other parts that have been included.

On the other hand, there are facts that some people feel you can’t talk about, say in the Second World War.

For example, when we came to the television series, we were sitting round the table and we talked all about the bombings and the blackout and got that sorted.

Then we got to the Holocaust and there were six or seven pages and they read them in silence and then said “Of course we can’t do that”.

I am actually quite proud of the fact that television can’t do the Holocaust but I can.

When I went to school, it was all about the Romans – it was the Romans who brought civilisation, the Romans who gave us water supplies and aqueducts, the Romans who brought us straight roads – that is what they told us all the time.

But the Romans were the most evil people there were. They are the only people who killed people for sport.

Thousands of them would go to an arena and watch people killed for sport and they are held up as models of civilisation. And, because teachers are telling them that, children grow up thinking the Romans were really civilised.

Horrible Histories tell the truths that, in the past, teachers have cut out from history.

Q Why do the Horrible Histories work so well on stage?

A We work really well as a team. Birmingham Stage Company (BSC) actor/director Neal Foster is very knowledgeable and experienced in children’s theatre.

BSC has been going more than 20 years now. I have been a professional actor for 40 years.

So, between us, we know what we are doing. We are not trying to write literary stuff.

It isn’t the books on stage – we are not determined to be true to the spirit of the books, we are writing for theatre. So it is fresh and original.

Q So what’s in the pipeline for Terry Deary?

A I am working on some adult history books in a new series called Dangerous Days.

The first was published in November 2013 and was entitled Dangerous Days In The Roman Empire.

That will be followed in 2014 and 2015 by books on Victorian railways, Elizabeth I and Ancient Egypt... they will have a layer of humour and be a bit gruesome.

They are more or less Horrible Histories for adults, but we can never ever use that title.

There will also be new Horrible Histories titles, while I’m planning movies and television series based on my adult books and